Louisiana HVAC Workers Comp Rates (2026)

Louisiana does not publish its HVAC class figures online. Across the 26 states that do, the median typical premium is about $2.74 per $100 of payroll. Ask a carrier or the state's rating bureau for the current Louisiana figure.

No official Louisiana figure is available online, so the numbers below use the US median of the states that publish one.

Louisiana class code for HVAC

5537: Heating, Ventilation, Air-Conditioning and Refrigeration Systems - Installation, Service and Repair & Drivers
5535 (Sheet Metal Work - Installation & Drivers)
5183 (Plumbing NOC & Drivers)

HVAC technicians work in attics and on roofs and handle electrical circuits and refrigerants.

What comp costs per hvac technician in Louisiana

The Bureau of Labor Statistics counts 5,380 heating, air conditioning, and refrigeration mechanics and installers on payrolls in Louisiana (May 2025), the 26th largest workforce among the 50 states and DC. The median wage is $28.20 an hour, 4% below the US median of $29.33.

Heating, air conditioning, and refrigeration mechanics and installers make up about the same share of Louisiana jobs as they do nationally (location quotient 1.05).

At the US median of $2.74 per $100 of payroll (Louisiana does not publish its figure online), comp on one worker at that wage costs about $0.77 for every hour worked, or $1,607 a year full time. A 2-person crew comes to roughly $3,214 a year in premium before any experience mod.

Because premium is charged on payroll, who you hire moves the bill. Louisiana pay runs from $17.77 an hour at the 10th percentile to $37.60 at the 90th, so the same rate costs $0.49 an hour on a new hire and $1.03 on a senior hand.

Workers comp requirements in Louisiana

Coverage required: 1 employee
Owners and sole proprietors: Owners with no employees exempt; the general contractor is a statutory employer for an uninsured sub's workers
State fund: Competitive state fund (Louisiana Workers' Compensation Corporation)
Waiting period: 7 days; retroactive only if disability extends beyond 6 weeks
Penalty for going without: $250 first offense up to $10,000, plus up to a year in jail and full benefit liability

Louisiana reimburses the waiting period only if disability lasts more than six weeks, one of the longest triggers in the country.

Louisiana vs neighboring states

Texas: about $1.28 per $100 of payroll

Louisiana does not publish its figure, so the first row is the US median. Among neighbors that publish, Texas is the cheapest for HVAC comp at about $1.28 and Texas the most expensive at about $1.28 per $100 of payroll.

If your crews work across the line, list those states under item 3.A or 3.C of your policy before the job starts. Rates follow the state where the work is done, not where your office is.

What moves a HVAC comp bill

Service techs and install crews usually share one class, so the rate is driven by your claim history: back strains from lifting condensers and falls from ladders and roofs are the typical losses.
If you also do sheet-metal fabrication or duct work outside buildings, ask how your bureau classifies it. Some of that work rates differently from installation and service.
Dispatchers, office staff, and outside salespeople can be rated as clerical or sales when their duties keep them out of the field. Keep their timesheets separate.
Company vehicles put a lot of miles on service crews. A driving policy and clean MVRs help on the auto side and with comp, because vehicle accidents on the job are comp claims.